Agenda and draft minutes

It was moved by Councillor G Rogers, seconded by Councillor J Simmons and

RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor P Moult to take the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence received.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest, registerable interest or other interest.

There were no interests were declared.

The Chair introduced all parties in attendance and outlined the procedures to be followed.

The Hearing Regulations (2005) stated that the Authority must allow parties an equal period of time in which to present their evidence. It was agreed that the maximum time limit for each presentation be 10 minutes.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report, highlighting the background of the report and the representations received.

The Applicant addressed the Committee and stated that, to reduce crime and disorder, CCTV would be present, Challenge 25 would be in place, and there would be clear signage throughout the store which would prevent littering and loitering. There was to be at least two well-trained members of staff on site who could handle disorderly behaviour. The Applicant also stated that they would like to amend the opening times included in their application from 6:00am-12:00am to 7:00am-11:00pm.

Several questions of clarity were then asked by the Panel regarding the application, and the Applicant said that the store will be more for convenience purposes and will sell general products as well as alcohol.

The Interested Parties then addressed the Committee. They highlighted the potential that the sale of alcohol would have to increase anti-social behaviour in the area, and that selling alcohol at 6:00am would be inappropriate, as a nursery is situated across the road. The necessity of the store was also questioned due to the number of similar stores in the area.

The Applicant explained that opening at 6:00am was intended for the sale of essential products rather than alcohol, but due to the difficulty of separating items, they were to be sold together.

The Applicant and Interested Parties were given the opportunity to make closing speeches. They each reiterated their points outlined above.

The meeting adjourned at 2:59pm.

The meeting reconvened at 3:27pm.

The Legal Advisor read out the decision notice, detailing how the Panel had reached their decision. The Sub Committee stated that the evidence received from the Interested Parties could not justify the refusal of the application, as this would have undermined the promotion of the licensing objectives, and

RESOLVED THAT:

The application be granted with its original hours and conditions.

The meeting closed at 3:33pm.